Asteya and the Flow of Change: Embracing Self-Wholeness and Vitality Through Mindful Practice

 

North India Yoga Studio in construction phase

 

Asteya

The practice of honoring other people’s property by not using it or taking it w/out their permission, which includes taking care of the earth for the sake of future generations.


A seed goes through many changes before it blooms into a flower. The dynamics of the mind through the weather of change form the person you are today.

Asteya channels through the second Yama, Satya, truthfulness. Let go of the desire to be others, because you already are others. Have you ever seen a dog chase its tail?

Change is going to happen in every aspect of your life.

Asteya is the practice of managing change by disciplining the desire to take from others. When in fear, it is a natural human compulsion to reach for things outside of self to fill a perceived void. The void does not exist. Spin vitality here with daily mat practice. You are whole and complete as you are.

Now, it is time to listen to your inner guidance. Do this by honoring what you do have. The journey you are on can only be understood by you. When you try to hide who you are, you deny the world the miracle of you. The ego can be fun. Self-expression is the ego and how you share your gifts with the world. Life is for celebrating.

On the mat.

Diamond in the Rose. Find a comfortable seat. Bring the palms together, to touch. Tuck the thumb between the palms. Press palms to the chest. Close your eyes with focus on the space between the eyebrows. At your heart, a rose, and in the center a sparkling diamond. With the wish to end suffering for all living beings, “om mani padme hum.”

Sanskrit is a wind language that flows easily with mantras. However, if you would prefer, you may use the English version, with Latin roots.

Translated from Sanskrit, “I sing the diamond in the rose.”

For today.

Beginner: make a gratitude list.

Advanced: Tune into your inner winds and observe what moves them. First the body, and what moves the body. Second the breath, and what moves the breath. Third, the winds and what brings excitement/aversion. Fourth, the perception you have of the thing and how your perception of the thing moves you. The fifth layer is your center, enjoy the bliss body. Offer liberation to others.


Embracing Unchanging Truth: Living Authentically by Aligning Mind, Speech, and Actions

 
 

Satya

The practice of never giving anyone even a slightly different impression from what you know to be true. The most serious lie is to make false claims about spiritual realizations, but truthfulness also includes avoiding divisive talk, harsh words, and idle talk.


True essence is unchangeable, with no distortion, and is pure. Living a truthful life without harming others while thoughts, emotions, and moods change constantly. The truth is your essence never changes. So often we identify with our irrational thoughts. With yoga, we learn to ALLOW mind fluctuations by breathing into the discomfort - to identify and face it. Pay attention to where discomfort is sourced. If an unpleasant emotion comes up: see it, face it, let it go, for freedom. Take responsibility for the feeling and KNOW that you are not your mind. When there is identification with a negative thought, it weakens us and after neural pathways form from the repetitive thought, we become sick. Have you ever looked in the mirror and not recognized the reflection?

Give others the courage to live their truth - inspire them by not comparing yourself to them. You are created in a beautifully, unique way, so follow your intuition and trust that you are proper, just as you are. Based on your thoughts, speech, and actions, your perception of reality is formed. When truth and action meet, the fruit is powerful and innovative to the great wonders of life.

Think before speaking and consider the consequences of action. Forgive others because they are a reflection. Authenticity is forgiving yourself and speaking with conviction, through the eyes of a student of life. Accept strengths and weaknesses without judgment. With explanation, we find justification and quantification. This does not bring truth in certainty but a label. Certainty comes from you. Stop reaching outside of yourself, because you have everything you need inside. Be true, be you.

When you give yogi truth, you get yogi truth. When the ego gets in the way of the heart, mental afflictions form in fear. Go back to the drawing board, everything is coming from you! Satya, truth, travels through the first yama of non-harming, Ahimsa. Live authentically by aligning your mind, speech, and action to your awesome authentic self.


Truth is youth
uplift the gift
the journey
Get off the gurney

In order to trust
let go of lust
plastic
elastic
bend
to mend

see the tree
I am you
you are me

April's Theme: Cultivating Self-Trust Through Intuition, Mindful Eating, and Self-Knowledge

 
 

“I can trust myself “ is the theme for April. Self-trust includes knowing, being, and spending time with yourself. To have reasonable goals, be decisive, build on strengths, be kind to yourself, and most importantly, treat yourself from time to time. Trust is following intuition unless you have parasites or take antibiotics. This is because the gut flora acts as a second brain*. What we eat becomes us which includes what we are focusing on when eating. If the focus is on “Wow, this is delicious! I’m so grateful for this beautiful dish”, that is what is digested. If this is in a positive environment, full of love and life, that is digested too. 

When the focus is “There is not enough, I’m fat, better get back to work”, that is what you are feeding yourself. If the environment includes an electronic screen, it’s like the food doesn’t even exist. What signal do you think that sends to your psyche?

Knowing yourself is the next step. Know vulnerabilities, body sensations, what brings a sense of peace, and what throws one off balance. The ability to know thyself relieves suffering because there is a clear perception of what is in front of you, in this moment. There is no past or future w/out this present moment. With a clear perception, the picture in front is a reflection of everything desired. When all is achieved, the realization reveals the most important thing all along: love and connection. Because how we connect to others is how we connect to self. Today I invite you to trust yourself by being yourself.

*If gut health is out of balance, so is the mind, meaning that if all of the natural bacteria in the gut are killed, our mind doesn’t function optimally because the primal gut instinct is being overthrown.

Digesting Life: How Our Perceptions, Food Choices, and Mindset Shape Our Well-Being

 

Lake Atitlan Guatemala at The Mystical Yoga Farm.
Photography by Nikki Bigger

 

Ahimsa

The practice of being careful not to arm others, which concludes every living creature, since all beings feel pain and wish to avoid it.


Ahimsa is nonviolence to all things and translates to “compassion” in Sanskrit. Things include you, me, and the fly you just swatted at. Ahinsa reflects everything from your cell phone screen to the environment. The all-encompassing gentleness and sometimes rage that guides us to the justice of life. Why a cell phone screen then? Because everything outside is a reflection of the inside of you. When we are well, things work and flow. When we are distracted and defensive, there is congestion and blocking. 

Vegan breakfast in North India

We are what we eat and this isn’t just limited to food. We digest what we perceive also. Perception in sight, smell, taste, touch and sound. Certainty is one of the six basic human needs so our perception can be biased based on our past. Even if what is in front of us is epic beauty, sometimes our mind will choose to perceive only the dangers of what we have experienced before in an attempt to keep us safe. Change equals stress, no matter if it is good or bad. A defensive, unaccepting state brings himsa, meaning “to strike” in Sanskrit. If we are in the process of change, stress is experienced and even if pleasant, can be a lot to digest. It’s a conscious effort to choose peaceful thoughts at this time because peaceful thoughts create a peaceful environment. Reaction to the change out of fear will only bring disaster.

I choose to live a vegetarian, liberal vegan, lifestyle. Liberal vegan because cows in India are treated as Gods and I love chocolate. What the animal experiences during the slaughter is what is being digested along w the meat. When stressed we release hormones into the bloodstream that are basically poison. These hormones degenerate muscles and cause weakness in the body and breakouts on the skin. Animals release the same poisonous hormones. Imagine how stressful it would be to be killed. We are literally eating fear or himsa

Our deep, primal instinct is to survive and it is the first step in our perception. After primal instinct we move into the wise mind: thinking and emotions. The wise mind is where logic and compassion are born. As the human mind continues to evolve at a rapid pace, the ancient part of our brain still holds onto the survival instinct. Mind fog is a symptom of overstimulation in the rat race of modern society. Overstimulation breeds perceived danger because it is the evolved object of danger in the form of work, news, egoic pressure, and FOMO. This is an obstacle to being present in the moment, which is all we have. The future is unknown and the past is over. Presence is the foundation of self-observation and introspection.  By coming from a state of compassion, our vision is clear and the world is safe. 


Forgiveness not reaction
Love not anger
Ease not struggle
One smile has the power to change someone's whole day